Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (25 page)

"I will help you," he said in a quiet tone. "I will escort you back here when you need to come. I give you my word."

"Thank you," I whispered.

I almost took his hand, but refrained in time.

"Let me pack some things," I said, standing. "You can look around if you like."

For the next five minutes, I was involved with packing. I found a second backpack in the closet. My old one from the Wilderness Store. I opened a drawer and grabbed all the panties there. They would be needed after the birth.

The light kept switching on and off.

I chuckled.

Thane was having fun. Wait until he found the TV.

From the second drawer, I withdrew a stack of T-shirts. I put them in a backpack. I noticed one of Steve's old T-shirts in the drawer. It gave me an idea.

"Thane, can you come here?"

When he moved to my side, I sat on the edge of the bed.

"It might be smart if you took off your tunic and wore this T-shirt instead," I said. "It's what we wear here. Then if someone sees you, it won't matter."

I had no jeans for him, but his britches were a bit like football pants. He'd look like he had just finished practice.

Thane whipped the tunic over his head.

My whole body shuddered in response as he stood there, bare-chested. Curly black hair covered him in all the right places, straight across his chest a
nd trailing down the center of his torso, leading to―hoo boy.

I dragged my eyes to his face.

Within seconds, Thane was smoothing the white shirt over his stomach. It was too small. It clung to every line of his muscles, stretched to the limit. The white co
tton against his dark, tanned arms was more than disturbing.

My gaze drifted lower and my mouth went dry.

"This feels good," he said, oblivious to my embarrassment. "May I keep it?"

"Sure," I croaked.

I had learned an important thing about tunics versus T-shirts. The former covered a man's nether regions. The latter didn't. This was especially noticeable since I was sitting down.

Thank God he was wearing britches.

Still, I couldn't help but stare.

His nether regions couldn't always be that size. Could they?

Flopping onto my back, I closed my eyes. It never occurred to me that I was particularly vulnerable lying on my bed, steps away from a barely dressed hunk and protected by a mere T-shirt.

Neither of us spoke or moved.

I heard the ticking of the clock on the wall.

"May I look around, Rowena?"

"Of course," I said.

When he left, I stuffed his tunic into the bag. Then I scooped up my cell phone from the night table. It was fully charged now.

I went to the bathroom to get overnight pads. I was well-acquainted with the messy business of birthing and I wanted to be prepared. The pads filled up half of one backpack. I packed a clean facecloth and a fluffy towel too. What a luxury those would be.

Next, I wanted tea.

I found Thane in my office.

"You have so many books. You must be a wealthy woman."

"Not at all. We make them cheaper here. Although I do spend most of my money on them." I reached up. "Look! Here is my copy of Hesiod's
Theogony
in English. We'll take it back, and you can compare it to your version. I can teach you English from it."

He held the book as if it were the most valuable thing he had ever seen. "Do you have other games like our chess?"

"Good idea. I know just the thing." From the oak desk, I salvaged a deck of playing cards. "I can teach you gin rummy and euchre when we get back."

Thane followed me downstairs. I could see him eyeing the appliances.

"I don't have time to show you everything, but that's the stove, that's a dishwasher and that's the fridge. The fridge is like an icebox. It keeps things cold. As a matter of fact…" I opened the door. "How would you like a beer? I mean, an ale?"

I grabbed two Buds and popped off the tops. I handed him one, watching as he took a swig.

"Cold," he said. "Good, but very light." He gulped the whole thing down in one sitting.

I reached for a Guinness. "Try this one."

He fiddled with the top, trying to open it. When he figured it out, he took a sip. "This one is interesting. More like the drink they make from peat up north."

I took a swig of my Bud, then started packing the pink backpack. I took every packet of tea I could find, including the loose leaf. I added hot chocolate packets and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I moved to the fridge where I cleared out the cheese drawer. This was like the game of "What would you take to a desert island?"

What would I take? The three Cs—cheese, chocolate and cookies.

I threw in some cutlery and a box of tissues.

"I'm done now. Finish your beer so we can go."

My gaze traveled to the floor, where Piper's water dish sat empty. I fe
lt a pang of guilt and sorrow.

"Thane, do you like dogs?"

"I do. There's a sweet little mutt in the kitchens I am quite fond of. Don't tell Sargon. He doesn't know it's there."

The lock on my front door clicked.

"What the―" I rushed toward the door.

Thane
jumped to his feet. "Rowena?"

"It's okay." I sighed in resignation. "Only one other person has a key."

The door opened and Steve stepped inside. He looked pissed.

"Rowena! I was at my desk when you called. I could see it was your home number, so I came right over." He froze when he noticed Thane. "Who is
that
?"

"Hi, Steve, nice to see you too."

Hoo boy, I had a bad feeling.

"This is Thane. Thane, Steve."

Thane stood with his hands to each side, ready for a fight.

Steve ignored him. "You didn't call on Tuesday. Where have you been?"

I struggled to hold in my temper. My ex acted like he still had some sort of hold over me.

"In England, visiting my relatives. I have all sorts of cousins over there that I didn't know about."

I was happy that at least something I was saying was true.

I studied the two men. They were exactly the same height, but not the same size. Thane was of a much broader build.

Steve tilted his head at Thane. "Is this one of them?"

"A relative? Yes."

"Brother-in-law" didn't seem like a good thing to say at the moment.

"Who is this scrawny creature, Rowena?"

Before I could answer, Steve said, "Watch your mouth, stranger." He frowned at me. "Okay, I get the Brit accent. You always had a thing for foreign accents."

He glared at Thane, his expression full of contempt. Then eyes went wide. "Hey! Is that my T-shirt he's wearing? Row, what's going on? And why aren't you wearing a bra? Did you just get out of bed? Are you sleeping with this creep already?"

In a blink, Thane pinned Steve against a wall, one hand around his throat, one knee against Steve's groin.

"What a monstrous thing to say, you ignorant peasant. She is virtuous and good."

"Thane, release him," I pleaded. "Please. For me."

I couldn't believe this was happening. Thane was the level-headed brother. If Sargon were here, Steve would be dead by now.

Thane's jaw clenched and unclenched. At last, he stepped back and Steve fell to the floor, gasping and moaning.

"Who is this weakling, Rowena?" Thane said in disdain.

"A former suitor. Emphasis on the former. He's actually quite a good athlete, if you call golf athletic. And he's a scholar."

"He has no honor." Thane crossed his arms, the T-shirt stretching to its limit. "He doesn't even challenge me. He is unworthy of you."

"Yeah, well…I thought so too." I glared at Steve. "That's why I called it off."

"Perhaps we should settle this like men. With daggers."

"Rowena?" Steve whined.

"Don't mind Thane. They talk funny over there. I think you'd better leave now. I'm going back to England." When he didn't move, I leaned down. "Are you okay? Should I call 911?"

Steve shook his head. "I'm leaving. Give me a sec."

Using the wall for support, he clambered to his feet. When Thane made a move to help him, Steve cringed. "Keep that thug away from me."

I almost laughed.

A minute later, he stumbled through the front door and slammed it behind him.

Thane stared at me in disbelief.

"I know, I know!" I said, flinging my arms in the air. "He's a jerk. But I didn't know it at first. And if you saw the size of the diamond ring he gave me…" My voice trailed off.

"He would not have treated you well."

"And you think I'm treated well in Sargonia?"

We stared at each other, sharing the same thoughts. Thane's face turned to stone. He looked tortured.

"We better go, Thane. It's time."

Back in the car, his mood lifted. There was so much to see. I pointed out landmarks as we sped down Scottsdale Road.

But I couldn't help but think of the scene with Steve.

"Thank you for that," I said. "For defending me."

For defending my honor, which
seemed such a quaint concept in Arizona, but rather nice just the same.

He nodded once, satisfied.

We stopped at a streetlight.

"A penny for your thoughts," I said.

He eyed me, puzzled.

"It's an expression―an idiom. You looked deep in thought. I was askin
g to hear them."

"I am trying to decide if I should tell you."

"Surely by now, you know you can trust me."

"I do not fear that. I am trying to decide if it will make things worse."

"Now you've got me curious. You
have
to tell me."

"Very well. I meant what I said earlier. You are a virtuous woman, Rowena. Yet, I know what you were feeling back there when we were alone. I was feeling it too."

My breath let out in a whoosh. I didn't pretend not to know what he meant.

"It's that T-shirt you're wearing, Thane."

"And yours too. But it is far more than that, I think."

We were quiet for the rest of the way back to campus.

We didn't even speak when we rejoined his men on the other side and headed back to Castle Sargon. I can't imagine what the men must have thought.

"But it is far more than that, I think."

He was so right.

At night, Thane did not join us for dinner.

Chapter 27

Day nine, after the birds and bees had returned, dawned bright and warm. We were expecting huge groups of tournament contestants to arrive today. The courtyard bustled as I hurried toward the stables. The grooms scurried around like worker bees.

"Any need for me, Avery?" I asked the groom.

He shook his head and wiped his brow. "Not yet, m'lady. We're busy finding stalls for the guest horses. We're using everything we have. The outbuildings too."

"Come get me at the castle when I can be of use."

Men rode into the courtyard, dismounted and stared at each other as testosterone levels surged.

Trying to stay out of view, I watched them, taking in their brilliant colors and various strange weapons strapped to the horses. Some of the men saw me. They stopped and stared.

Feeling uncomfortable, I looked for Gareth's blue colors. I couldn't see them. But I did see Thane. He was across the square.

"Thane!" I hollered in an unladylike fashion.

He signaled me and I ran to him, too eagerly at first. Self-conscious, I slowed to a walk.

"You shouldn't be here," he said, concern carved into his face. "It's not safe. Too many warriors we can't vouch for."

He
was
watching out for me. Was this his idea or Sargon's?

I hoped it was Thane's.

"I was checking the horses. I'll go back inside the castle."

As he escorted me across the yard, I watched the parade of men and horses. Some came in chainmail, while others wore ceremonial tunics.

"Those are the Danes." Thane pointed to a group of tall blond men in flashy red colors. They seemed to favor longbows.

"So each area or Earldom has a different set of weapon preferences?"

"To some extent. Here, we tend to be swordsmen. Though I compete in longbow."

"I would have thought you were a wrestler." I smiled, remembering his quick moves with Steve.

He shrugged. "I've done that as well."